Wednesday, December 16, 2015

At the year’s end, I usually write about the highlights of my travels or
adventures. However for the finality of 2015 and following the Paris Climate
Summit, I have been compelled to feature a photo for each month that has an
environmental theme. These photos are from scenes that I have come across during
my photo-explorations of the past year, from water issues to weather extremes
and compromised ecosystems. The following photographs were taken within a 100
mile radius around Walker Lake, Nevada and in the Great Basin Desert.

Clouds form over Mono Lake, California, moving eastward from the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. The receding shore line and lack of snow on the mountains for
the month of January are indicators of the drought that continues to plague the
western U.S.

Late January and early February, a large number of
waterfowl were infected with Avian cholera at Walker Lake, Nevada.

The bodies of
American Coots lay tangled in tumble weeds that were blown to the water’s edge
by the wind.

A dust storm churned up by the strong winds of March on
east side of Walker Lake, Nevada.

A desolate location for Lee Hot
Springs with a capped off well and volcanic rocks, however the mountains in the
background show lack of snowpack after a dry winter on an early spring day in
April.

On a hillside in the Gabbs Valley Range, in May, the top of a
purple bottle stands out. A closer look reveals a piñon pine root that has been
growing through the bottle’s neck for no telling how many years.

A hot
June morning and cumulonimbus clouds build over the Garfield Flats Range. I
barely made it out of the wash before the clouds produced a F1 Category Tornado
that touched down in Hawthorne, Nevada.

With the heat index reaching
over the century mark in July at Walker Lake, ecosystems grow out of balance at
the water’s edge as numerous damselfly larvae are caught in the huge orb-weaver
spider webs that cover most of the shore.

The receding shore at Soda
Lake in August, tufa mounds grow along the edge of the water. Soda Lake was
formed inside the collapsed cone of a basaltic maar volcano by irrigation for
agriculture which increased the groundwater.

A tunnel by the highway to
Yerington, Nevada in September. Rainfall from fast moving summer monsoons
produced flash floods that cut deep washes through the dry desert.

An
October photo-trip to the Wild Burro Range at Marietta, Nevada. The frame of a
windsock stands as a reminder of the harsh winds and extreme weather in the
Great Basin Desert.

Strong winds in November blow the thin snow pack
across the peaks at Mount Grant, Nevada.

A winter storm in December
brings in much needed moisture; however it will take so much more to offset the
receding north shore at Walker Lake, Nevada.

The year of 2015 has seen interesting weather patterns with a warmer winter and rising heat index for the summer. When El Niño comes for the winter, I will be ready with my Nikon to record any interesting trends, so follow my blog and check back often for the new posts.

What
an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been. I love
it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get
treated to new experiences.

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that
moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my
interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and
strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the
viewer on a spiritual level.

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download.

All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text,
design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be
copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the
express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald.
For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please
submit a written request.